This invention relates to an article with a surface capable of being imprinted. In particular, the invention relates to plastic articles, such as plates, suitable for imprinting by a hot-stamping process and to methods for manufacturing and using these articles.
Decorative plates are used to personalize many items. For example, trophies and plaques given as recognition of an achievement usually have a plate which contains the recipient's name and other pertinent information. Other uses for such plates include personalization of desk sets, luggage, automobiles and works of art.
Heretofore, most aesthetically acceptable plates have been produced on a metallic material, usually gold or silver in color. Generally, these plates have been imprinted by an engraving method. The method is performed by etching the metallic plate, such as brass or aluminum, with a diamond or carbide stylus. To achieve proper form and arrangement of lettering or other engraved material, a pantograph is generally used.
"Lettering" as used herein means any reproduction of a letter, numeral, design, logotype, trademark or the like.
Although the imprinted plates made by the engraving method have high aesthetic qualities, they often have a disadvantage resulting from the lack of contrast between the imprinted lettering and the remaining surface of the plate. As a result, it may be difficult to read the imprinted lettering. In metal plates, an oxidation process may be employed to obtain contrast, but in most cases the extra cost of this process is prohibitive. Also, contrast has been obtained on plastic plates by using contrasting colors of laminated plastic, but this material and the process of engraving it are expensive.
A second prior art method of imprinting on plates is silk-screening by which coloring matter, such as ink, paint or dye is forced with a squeegie onto the plate through the meshes of a silk or organdy screen so prepared as to have pervious lettered areas and impervious nonlettered areas. Although there may be a high degree of contrast between the lettered and the remaining portion of the plate, a debossed surface cannot be achieved by the silk-screen method. Thus, silk-screening cannot be used where an engraved appearance or effect is desired.
Another disadvantage of the silk-screen method is that it is frequently impractical for personalizing individual plates. This results from the long set up time necessary to prepare the silkscreen for printing. The consequent set-up cost may be acceptable when printing, for example, a few hundred plates, but the additional cost will often be prohibitive when printing only one.
A major problem with the engraving and the silk-screening methods is the requirement that a skilled person perform either method. Thus, neither method is geared for immediate use by the general retail trade. In the case of engraving, the retailer usually sends the item to a jeweler. In the case of silkscreening, the retailer usually sends the item to a printer. The additional time and handling, together with the consequent increased cost, lessen "impulse" purchases which is important in the retail marketing of a relatively low-cost item with an engraved plate.
Another means for imprinting on objects is hot stamping. This technique has been used to imprint such materials as paper, leather, and plastic; but the process does not achieve a high quality engraved-like debossed effect on these materials. Furthermore, hot stamping is not an acceptable technique for imprinting on metal surfaces. Therefore, this technique is not used to imprint metal plates and cannot be used effectively to deboss such metal plates.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved article with a surface which can be imprinted by a hot-stamping process. Another object is to provide an article with a metallic-like surface which can be imprinted by a hot-stamping method to achieve a high color contrast and a debossed character comparable to an engraved metal plate. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of imprinting a plate which may be performed by an unskilled operator at the point of sale. Still another object of the invention is to to produce a debossed high contrast imprinted plate having superior aesthetic qualities at a low cost. Another object is to provide a plate on which certain common processing mistakes may be inexpensively, easily and quickly corrected. A further object is to provide a plate which may be readily and inexpensively manufactured.
Further objects will become manifest from the description, drawings and claims.